1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to methods and devices used for degrading organic waste and, more specifically to a device for maintaining an effective bacterial level within the collecting chamber of an organic matter collection system.
2. Prior Art
The disposal of the grease and oil generated during the operation of a facility such as a restaurant is becoming increasingly difficult because of the imposition of stringent municipal waste disposal regulations. In the past, a common solution to the disposal problem was to simply pour the waste oils and liquefied grease into a drain connected to the wastewater disposal system. This solution was not without its drawbacks. The grease and oils accumulated within the pipes causing blockages in the lines and sewer backups within the establishment. To minimize these new problems, organic matter collection systems, often referred to as grease traps, are installed within the flow path of the wastewater disposal system. These collection systems have a collecting container that provides favorable conditions for the accumulation of the greases and oils in a specific location. The collecting container is generally accessible to maintenance personnel to allow for removal of the accumulation of grease and oil. Thus, the original problem of disposal has returned.
One solution to the disposal of grease, oil and other organic matter collected within the collecting container of an organic matter collection system is to inoculate the liquid within the collecting container with bacterial cultures containing grease and oil degrading bacteria. The bacteria degrade the greases and oils into compounds which will not cause blockages within the wastewater disposal system and which may be disposed into the wastewater disposal system under the disposal regulations.
Various devices and methods have been designed in an attempt to effectively implement this solution. One method is to prepare and pour a solution containing bacterial cultures into the wastewater disposal system via the drains within the establishment. However, once poured into the wastewater disposal system, some of the bacteria will flow through and past the collecting container and, therefore, requires the use of a large quantity of bacterial cultures; this solution can make maintaining an effective bacterial level within the collecting container both time consuming and expensive to implement.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,925,564, 4,810,385 and 4,670,149 disclose other attempts to provide workable devices and methods for maintaining the bacterial level within the collecting container of an organic matter collection system. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,925,564 and 4,670,149, invented by John Francis, issued on May 15, 1990, and Jun. 2, 1987, respectively, describe methods which include positioning, within the collecting container, a bacterial incubator adapted to float at the air to liquid interface. Bacterial cultures are then added to the wastewater system by preparing and pouring a solution containing the bacterial cultures into the drains within the establishment. However, a large source of potential substrate and nutrients for the bacteria is the organic sediments which collect at or near the bottom of the tank. A device designed to maintain bacterial levels at the air-water interface will not effectively degrade these unwanted organic sediments.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,385, invented by Gary Hater, Mark Krupka and Lois Davis, issued on Mar. 7, 1989, describes a porous fabric sock-like member filled with dried bacterial cultures. The sock is placed directly in the path of the waste stream flow. As the waste stream flows through the sock-like member, the dried bacterial cultures or microorganisms are wetted and released into the stream. Because the majority of bacterial cultures or micro-organisms are released during periods of high wastewater flow, using this type of device can result in an expensive loss of bacterial cultures from the collecting container. In addition, replacing spent sock-like members can be objectionable because the sock-like member is usually saturated with sewage.
Another device is the biological incubator described in application Ser. No. 08/225,007. That incubator is designed to rest on or near the bottom of the collecting container. Such a locale provides the bacteria growing in the incubator direct access to the nutrient source present in the bottom of the collecting container. The incubator has a central chamber connected to a feed tube through which the operator charges the incubator with a bacterial insert without removing the housing from the collecting container. However, once the incubator is in place, the operator must access the interior of the collecting chamber to recharge the incubator, which can be a messy task objectionable to some operators. It would, therefore, be desirable to have a device and method for maintaining the bacterial level within the collecting container of an organic matter collection system that will maintain effective bacterial levels within the collecting container below the air/liquid interface, provide the operator with the choice of charging the device with bacteria either from the waste stream or by direct placement of bacteria in the device, that is relatively inexpensive to implement, that is not objectionable to the person practicing the method and that requires only minimal training to use and practice.